All told, the township is considering leasing 141 acres to the natural gas company for horizontal, non-surface drilling. Land upon which the township building sits accounts for 81 of those acres, with the remaining 60 coming from property that houses a composting facility off of Lindley Road.

But as of the last meeting officials had with the company, the proposed deal didn’t meet the expectations of Township Manager Frank Siffrinn.

While Range Resources offered $3,000 per acre and 17.5-percent royalties this past January in a deal for 51 acres on McDowell Lane, the company offered $2,500 per acre and 16-percent royalties this time around, Siffrinn said.

“Range is the only game in town now,” he said, adding that officials plan to meet with the company later this month.

Siffrinn said he thinks the lack of competition Range Resources has in the region contributes to the lower offer, which company representatives described to him as a standard rate.*